How to spot the bottom of 'the market'

Suddenly the papers are full of 'green shoots' about the "property market". However, as we've already identified, there are thousands of different property markets across the UK.

So can we predict the bottom of the housing market? The short answer is 'not yet'! Many forecasters have been saying that the UK market will crash since 2000. However they were seven years too early! Not really forecasts you can rely on.

The real truth is that no-one can predict the bottom of any market until after it has already happened! And does it really matter?

If you are an investor, then buying 'at the bottom' or near to it is quite important as you make your money when you buy. However, as most property investors hold onto property for ten or more years, whether they buy 'at the bottom' or +/- 10% doesn't really matter over this length of time.

If you are looking for a home you want to live in for a good five to ten years or more, then it's a bit pointless waiting for the bottom of the market to buy. Firstly you may miss out buying the home that you want and secondly, why not just offer a price that takes into account any likely further falls?

Many buyers who are trading up benefit in a falling market as they can afford properties that would otherwise be out of their price range. This does rely on you being able to sell your own home and in current credit crunch conditions have the equity and deposit required to secure a decent mortgage.

The other key consideration is which market are we looking for the bottom of? The London or Edinburgh market? The market for 1930s homes? New builds? Listed buildings? A self build plot of land? The truth is there are thousands of different property markets and they will all 'bottom' out at different times over the coming year or two.

To help you identify 'How to spot if YOUR property market is bottoming out':-

Step One
Work out what the market is for the property you want to buy. It might be three bedroom homes within a three mile radius or it might a farmhouse in a village location.

Step Two
List how many properties you are interested in that are for sale and how many have sold over the last three months.

Step Three
Idenitfy two or three roads that have homes that you are looking to purchase and monitor weekly and monthly how many homes their are for sale and sold

Step Four
Checkout Hometrack to see in your postcode whether viewings, time to sell and the offer versus market price percentage are changing towards a faster moving market.

Step Five
Once you see that the number of homes for sale versus sold is starting to 'balance' and properties that haven't sold for some time are starting to come off the market, then it's likely that the market you are buying in is starting to bottom out. The biggest indicator is when people start competing for good properties in good locations.

For more information on buying and selling a home and the market, visit www.designsonproperty.co.uk